Courage
by 1Dluvah
Summary: A little courage was all Hinata needed to become Naruto's first bond. What if she HAD found the courage? Where would our favorite couple go from there? Try it out, my first fanfic so cut me some slack!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Naruto! You're late!" Iruka said angrily.

The boy outside caught Hinata's attention immediately. His shoulders were a little slouched, as if he was disappointed, but he had on a huge foxy grin that made her blush.

He was short and tanned, and dressed in a large orange jumpsuit. He had spiky sun-kissed blond hair and light blue eyes sparkling with mischief. But what was most different about him was that he had three long whisker-marks on each cheek.

"Class, this is Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka was scowling.

The boy waved, "Ohayo, mina."

Whispers broke out. Almost everyone knew of the boy; everyone was forbidden to communicate with him in anyway.

Naruto stuffed his hands in his pocket, grinning as if he couldn't see the hateful and fearful glares and scandalizing remarks he received.

As he walked up the stairs, he was the target of glares, spiteful whispers, spitballs and crumpled up balls of paper. Hinata was quite surprised when Iruka-sensei didn't point out and scold the offenders.

The boy looked around, drooping a little when he found nowhere he could sit.

Hinata raised her hand a fraction, nodding to the boy with a reluctant and shy smile.

He gave her a charming smile in return before dropping down beside her.

"Ohayo." He whispered.

"Ohayo, N-N-N-Naruto-kun. I'm H-H-H-Hyuuga H-H-Hinata."

"Hyuuga, huh? Should have recognized you, I guess." He grinned.

"Naruto! Pay attention and stop distracting Hyuuga-sama!" Iruka called loudly.

Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Hai, sensei."

X_X

"W-W-Would y-y-you l-l-l-like t-t-to s-s-sit w-w-with m-m-me d-d-during l-l-lunch, N-N-Naruto-kun? K-K-Ko-san w-w-would b-b-be b-bringing m-m-my l-l-lunch s-s-soon." She offered when the bell rang for lunch.

Naruto hesitated, a huge smile on his face when he shook his head.

"I don't want you to get in trouble." He waved before walking off, "Jane!"

He scarpered just when Ko, Hinata's branch family bodyguard, arrived.

"Stay away from that boy, Hinata-sama. Your father would be furious if he heard you were fraternizing with him." Ko said warningly, glowering in Naruto's direction.

"Hai, Ko-san."

Hinata sat down under a tree's shade and looked around.

On a nearby tree, Naruto was sitting on a swing and grinning like a Cheshire cat.

_I wonder why he's so happy? _She wondered.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, can I sit with you every day?" Naruto asked when the bell rang for the end of the day.

"H-H-Hai."

"Does that mean we can be friends?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"I-I-If y-y-you w-w-would l-l-like t-that."

"I would love that, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said happily, "I have to go now! Ja, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata simply waved.

It was the best day in Naruto's life, because he had made his first bond. Hyuuga Hinata may never know the impact she had on him, but Naruto would always remain grateful to her for ending his solitude.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

When two people of contrasting personalities become friends, they generally have positive effects on each other.

Naruto was loud, brash, aggressive, and full of energy. As their friendship progressed, she calmed him down slightly, and even had a positive effect on his intelligence.

As expected, Hinata's confidence gained a huge boost from talking to, being with and especially training with Naruto.

Yet, she remained the only bond he had, and he learned to cherish it while he yearned for more friends.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said in a sing-song voice.

Hinata smiled, "Ohayo, Naruto-kun."

Naruto came into view and immediately the smile was wiped off her face. _99, naruhina100%

Naruto sported a bandage over his forehead, and he had a large bruise on his cheek.

"N-Naruto-kun!?" She cried, "W-What happened?"

Naruto winced, "I- I fell down the stairs in my building."

Hinata stared at him, not buying his story.

She noticed how clumsy the bandage was.

"D-Did you b-bandage it y-yourself?" She asked.

He nodded.

She reached in her pocket and took out some of the healing ointment she made.

Blushing, she rubbed some on Naruto's cheek. He winced.

"It s-stings a l-little." Hinata whispered sympathetically.

"Arigatou." He whispered back with a smile.

"Where were you last night? I didn't see you during the festival."

Naruto looked away, "I wasn't invited."

Hinata raised her eyebrows. You weren't _invited _on the tenth of October.

Then she remembered the hateful attitude of the villagers, gritted her teeth, and tried to forget about it.

Hinata unwound the bandage around his forehead and frowned. The gash looked pretty big, but it was already somehow healing.

"D-Did you g-get s-someone t-to l-look at y-your f-forehead?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shook his head, wincing.

She rubbed some of her ointment on his forehead before bandaging it again.

"We're late for class." Hinata sighed.

Naruto grinned. For him, it was worth spending time with a friend.

X_X

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as they sat down for lunch.

Naruto looked up, "Hmm?"

"Why a-are y-you so q-quiet t-today?"

"I… Could you help me out, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked reluctantly.

"O-Of course, N-Naruto-kun."

"I'm out of groc- groc- what's the word?"

"Groceries." Hinata said gently.

Naruto nodded, smiling sheepishly, "And I was wondering if you could get them for me. I'm really bad at henge {transformation}."

"Sure. A-And, i-if you want, we could w-work on your henge and buunshin {clones}."

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan. I could definitely have them both flat with your help!" Naruto cried confidently.

Hinata smiled.

"How did your training go, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"It went v-very well. Father w-was very p-pleased. He s-said I've g-gotten more c-confident."

Naruto grinned, "I'm happy for you, Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled back, "Arigatou, Naruto-kun."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "It's my duty to help a friend."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: _{Genin Exams}_

Hinata's heart sank. Naruto had not come out of the room, though he had been gone for an exact hour.

She summoned up the courage and walked over to the exam room.

"Iruka-sensei?" She poked her head in.

Iruka nodded with a smile. He had gotten a little closer to Naruto over time and appreciated Hinata's friendship for him.

"Where's N-Naruto-kun?"

Iruka sighed, "He went out of the window. I think he wanted some time on his own. Mizuki went to talk to him a while ago."

"He…" Hinata faltered.

Iruka shook his head, "Naruto couldn't get the buunshin no jutsu."

Hinata's eyes filled with tears for her friend. She needed to find him.

[Everything here happens according to canon, Naruto steals the scroll, Iruka and Mizuki fight, Naruto gets to know of the fox; I'm not wasting my time repeating all that.]

X-The next day-X

Hinata put her headband in her pocket before knocking on the apartment door. She felt tears starting at the thought of going to the Academy without her best friend.

"Just a second!" Naruto called.

Hinata bit her lip, crossing her arms.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he opened the door, flashing her a huge grin.

Hinata gasped, "Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled, touching the headband he was wearing.

"I know." He said, "Come on in, I'll explain it."

As they walked to the living room, Hinata realized that Naruto had a look of apprehension and fear on his face. Hinata frowned. He was never afraid.

They sat down on the worn down couch. Naruto took a deep breath, and let it out, thinking where to begin.

He wanted to tell Hinata about the fox, he really did, but he was afraid of her reaction.

"W-Where w-were you yesterday? I l-looked for y-you, but y-you weren't there at o-our usual spots." Hinata started.

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, I was pretty miserable. I just went on the Hokage's Monuments."

Naruto started speaking faster, in a rush, "Mizuki-sensei came there. He told me that I could still pass if I stole a scroll from the Hokage Tower. I did so. I went to the clearing he had told me to meet him on. But he wasn't there, so I started learning a jutsu from the scroll. Then Iruka-sensei came, Mizuki-sensei revealed that it was all a trick, and he told me why the villagers hate me so much."

Now the words were tumbling so fast Hinata could hardly understand them.

"Thirteen years ago on my birthday when the Nine Tailed Fox attacked, The Fourth Hokage couldn't defeat it so he sealed it into a newborn baby, me."

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, fingers crossed.

Hinata frowned, concentrating. When everything clicked, she gasped.

"You! It w-was sealed i-into y-you?" Hinata cried, but there was only surprise in her voice, not malice or anger.

Naruto nodded, still not opening his eyes.

When Hinata remained silent, he spoke up.

"Hinata-chan, please…" A tear trickled down his cheek, "If you're leaving, leave now, please. I don't want to hear you call me a monster."

Hinata gasped again, "Naruto-kun, you think I w-would call you a m-monster!?"

She wiped off the tear from his cheek, blushing like crazy. She leaned in and hugged him tight.

"I c-could n-never d-do that." She stammered, then got more confident, "You're my best friend, I could never ever hurt you like that! You're Naruto-kun, who wouldn't even hurt a flea! You're not a monster who destroys everything! You're keeping us safe, by keeping the Kyuubi inside you!"

Naruto went completely still for a few minutes. Then his face lit up with a huge smile, tears in his eyes.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan." He whispered.

She pulled back, tomato-red, but smiling.

X_X

"We're n-not on t-the same t-team, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata had tears in her eyes.

Naruto gave her a gentle hug.

"It's okay, Hinata-chan. We'll meet up after every mission, and still train together. We're best friends, okay? I will never, ever, ever, ever forget about you."

Hinata smiled despite her tears. Naruto wiped her tears and grinned back at her.

"So cheer up, kay?"

"Daijobu!" Hinata replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm trying to update everyday or so. I hate long updates! So without further ado... chap 4!

* * *

Chapter Four:

"It's not fair." Naruto complained, "Stupid jii-san doesn't give us any missions except boring D-ranks. How do pulling weeds and finding cats help a shinobi anyway?"

Hinata bit her lip, "How's your new team, Naruto-kun? Do you like Sakura-san?"

Naruto thought for a minute, then admitted with a laugh, "I might have a teeny-tiny crush on Sakura-chan. But she's always chasing after Sasuke-teme."

"And Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked, her heart sinking.

"I don't know. He's a lazy pervert, but I guess he's okay. Ne, what about your team, Hinata?"

"Kiba-kun is v-very enthusiastic and e-energetic, like you. Shino-kun is v-very silent, l-like me, I guess. Kurenai-sensei is very nice. She s-said I'd g-gotten a lot m-more confident over the years. I didn't m-mess up one m-mission this time!" Hinata said, blushing.

Naruto grinned, "Yatta, Hinata! I told you everyone would notice if you became more confident. What about your father?"

"He still thinks I'm n-not very s-strong, but he doesn't c-call me weak e-either. I told him I w-won't ever go all-out a-against Hanabi-imouto. He said it w-wasn't becoming, but it w-was okay."

"What's that mean?" Naruto asked, confused, "Becoming?"

"It means it's not nice." Hinata replied gently.

"Oh. So anyway, I kept on complaining to Kakashi-sensei, and…" Naruto suddenly became a little quiet, "Ne, Hinata-chan? You don't think I'm noisy and annoying, do you?"

"Of course not!" Hinata looked horrified at the very thought, "You're very e-energetic, and I suppose you can b-be a l-little loud at times, but t-that's not a b-bad thing!"

Naruto grinned, "See? I knew Sakura-chan was wrong!"

X_X

Hinata knocked on his door nervously.

After a few minutes the door opened.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan." Naruto yawned.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun. I heard you're b-back from y-your mission."

Naruto grinned, "Yeah, a C-rank!"

"How was it?"

"Come in, I'll just shower and change, and be back in a sec."

Hinata went inside. She sat down on a couch in the living room and waited.

Naruto appeared a few minutes later, a towel around his shoulders, his shirt in his hands and wearing black loose pants.

Hinata blushed furiously as he sat down beside her.

He grinned, "Wanna hear all about it?"

Hinata nodded.

"Well, it was supposed to be a C-rank, but we ran into these two jounin-class assassins. And…" Naruto scowled, "I… I got scared. Sasuke-teme saved me. I was so stupid, Hinata-chan!" Naruto groaned, "I gave Sakura-chan another reason to admire him! I gave him another chance to show up his high-and-mighty-Uchiha-ass!"

"It's okay, N-Naruto-kun. E-Everyone m-makes m-mistakes."

"But I rocked butt next! So old-man-Tazuna explained that he was actually lying to us because he couldn't afford a B-rank mission."

And out came the whole tale, with very little of Naruto's exaggerations (He simply couldn't exaggerate in front of Hinata; he knew he liked it that she admired him, but she knew when he was bluffing and he couldn't bring himself to do it anyway).

"You know something, Hinata-chan?" Naruto sat back against the back of the couch, hands behind his head and elbows popping out.

"Yeah?"

"I don't like Sakura-chan that much anymore." He sounded a little wistful, "when Haku nearly killed Sasuke, she didn't even _glance_ at me. Even though I was hurt too. The whole trip, she was paying attention to Sasuke. If I didn't know you, I would think that that's how all girls think, because Ino and she and all the other girls used to act the same way towards me, but… I know you, and I know girls can be true friends too."

Hinata had tears in her eyes at the end, "Naruto-kun, you are a g-great person and friend! If S-Sakura-san doesn't treat you nicely, t-that's her fault! She can't s-see through the i-illusion! You are an a-amazing person!"

She was blushing brightly, but her tone was quite fierce.

Naruto grinned and hugged her tightly. Hinata couldn't stop herself. She fainted.

X_X

"Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan, wake up!" Naruto said desperately, glancing at the clock on the wall. He knew Hinata had a training session with her team, and he didn't want her to get into trouble because she was 'fraternizing' (Naruto had learnt this world very well) with the demon.

Hinata slowly blinked her eyes open.

"Naruto-kun?" She sat up.

Naruto smiled, relieved, "Hai. Get up, you have a training session with your team! I don't want you to get late!"

"Hai!" Hinata immediately stood up.

Naruto grinned, "When you're finished, come meet me at our usual training place, 'kay? I wanna treat you to ramen!"

"Naruto-kun, there's n-no need for t-that!"

"Hinata!" Naruto said sternly.

Hinata sighed, "Hai, Naruto-sama!"

Naruto grinned again, "Well, get going then!"

"Hai!"

* * *

comments, suggestions are all appreciated! reviews really make my day! xx. TJ


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

"Kakashi-sensei's entered our names in the Chuunin Exams." Naruto said as he ate his ramen.

"Don't t-talk when y-you're eating, Naruto-kun." Hinata replied gently, "Kurenai-sensei entered our names as well."

"I hope we don't have to fight."

Hinata smiled, "Even if we do, we won't have any hard feelings. Besides, we have to impress the judges. It doesn't matter if we lose."

Naruto grinned, "Yeah, I know."

"I hope w-we c-can m-make it." Hinata said nervously.

Naruto put a hand on her arm, his face serious.

"We'll show 'em, Hinata-chan. We'll show 'em who they're messing with." Naruto's face was set hard, his eyes blazing with determination.

"Did something happen, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, worried.

Naruto shook his head, giving her a warm smile, "Nope. It's just… I wanna show those damned villagers, you know?"

Hinata nodded, "And I want t-to show m-my clan."

Naruto grinned again, "We'll try as hard as possible. We—"

"Won't give up." Hinata said in sync with him, smiling, "Because that's our nindo, our ninja way!"

They shook hands.

X_X

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered ever so softly.

Naruto bowed his head down. With her hair covering her byakugan, she could see his lips moving.

_What do I do?_

She smiled and looked around carelessly. She could almost hear Naruto's brain working, analyzing her attitude and gestures.

_Cheat? _He mouthed, turning his head ever so slightly, puzzled.

She nodded, tilting her paper very little.

X_X

(The whole Chuunin Exam part 2)

Team 8 stepped in the field.

"Sakura-san, we're sorry we're late. Seems the fight has already finished." Hinata said, looking around, "Where's Naruto-kun?"

"He's…"

Sakura was interrupted when Sasuke woke up.

(The whole scene with Sasuke and the sound nin.)

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata sat down next to her crush. He was still pale.

"What did the ninja do to him?" Hinata's voice was trembling, but she didn't stutter.

"He hit Naruto's stomach, with a seal."

Hinata gasped, horrified.

All the teams turned around to look at her.

Hinata's face was paler than usual, and she looked scared.

"He… are you s-sure he m-made a s-seal on Naruto's stomach?" She asked.

Sasuke nodded, "I saw it myself."

"This i-isn't g-good. He was f-fine otherwise, right, Sakura-san?"

"Hai."

Hinata gently shook Naruto's shoulders.

"Naruto-kun?"

"It's no use. We've all tried." Sakura said.

Hinata ignored her, shaking Naruto's shoulder just a little harder.

"N-N-N-Naruto-k-k-kun? Please w-w-wake u-u-up." She whispered, her tears dropping off her chin and on his face.

Slowly, blinking, his eyes opened.

"Hinata-chan?"

A little away, Sakura's eyes widened.

'_Hinata-chan?' _She thought, _'They only sat next to each other at the Academy! They never even talked!'_

Hinata smiled, wiping off her tears, "Are you okay?"

Naruto blinked again, "Why are you here?"

'_We hit him so hard, and he woke up just when Hinata begged him? Are they going out? What!? No WAY could that happen!' _Ino thought.

"Naruto-kun, Sound-nin attacked and all the teams arrived to help. Are you all right?"

Hinata's eyes were telling him she was desperately worried.

Naruto sat up, "Ne, gomen, mina, I woke up so late. I should've helped you out."

Everyone stared at him as if he had gone insane.

"What!? Look away already!" Naruto yelled, annoyed.

Hinata knew what was annoying him. Being stared at with an unreadable expression was something that Naruto was used to, but it made him uncomfortable, especially when it was his teammates that were looking at him like that.

"We need to talk." He whispered.

Hinata nodded, "G-Gomen, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun. C-Could you w-wait a l-little? I n-need to talk to Naruto-kun."

Naruto squeezed her shoulders, "Relax, Hinata-chan."

He knew her stutter only made an appearance when she was nervous or scared.

Everyone stared at them, except Kiba and Shino, who shrugged.

"'Kay, Hinata."

Hinata sat down beside Naruto. He grinned and hugged her. She blushed furiously, but smiled.

"How're you guys doing?" He whispered, pulling away.

"Perfect." She whispered back, "We have our second scroll, and we were on our way to the tower. You guys?"

"Not so well." He sighed, "That grass nin… I sorta lost it when he attacked us. I used the Kyuubi's chakra. Damn it, Hinata-chan, he looked at Sasuke like he was something to eat! And then, he wrapped his disgusting slimy tongue around me—" Naruto shuddered, "And messed up the seal. I can't feel the Kyuubi's chakra, and I think my control's gonna be worse than usual."

Hinata bit her lip, "Did it… hurt?"

Naruto looked away.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata insisted.

"Yeah, it hurt like hell." He replied, "But don't worry, I'm fine now. Only… could you take a look, please?"

'_Since when does Naruto say please? He behaves completely differently around her. It's like they've been best friends since forever. They're reading each other so easily!' _Sakura had heard his last line.

Hinata nodded, "Get up, please?"

They stood up, and Naruto took off his jacket. He pulled up the black skin-tight t-shirt he wore.

'_He's… sexy!' _Ino blushed.

Naruto turned his back to all the Konoha shinobi and faced Hinata.

Hinata blushed, but activated her Byakugan. Naruto summoned some chakra.

She bit her lip.

"No sign of it." She murmured.

The seal appeared.

"He tampered with it, but I don't know what it's supposed to do. You should get it checked." She whispered.

Naruto summoned some shadow clones.

"It's fine, I can still do this. I don't need to babied." He whispered, looking away, a bitter look on his face, "No one will help me any way."

Hinata gave him a quick hug, blushing furiously.

"Now, you guys go on." Naruto turned back as he put on his jacket, "'Kay, people? Ja ne!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry guys, late update... about the length of the chapters... well, it's gonna be short for now but when I actually add real twists to the story, hopefully the chapters will be longer then. I'm still trying for now, though. Thank you so much for the reviews.**

**BTW, Hinata WILL lose against Neji even now because training and befriending Naruto won't make her stronger than an experienced genin who can mess up her mind and hates her. Anyway, here goes...**

* * *

Chapter Six:

With murmurings and mutterings, the other teams soon left.

"You know Hyuuga Hinata!?" Sakura exploded, "I thought we were your only best friends!"

Naruto couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

"Gomen, Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme's my rival, and you're my ex-crush or something like that. Hinata-chan's my best friend, only you never knew. Gomen, I didn't tell you before."

"We need to get started." Sasuke drawled.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, we should get going too."

X_X

Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba

"Naruto-kun, be careful, please." Hinata gave him a quick hug, "Good luck!"

Naruto nodded, "They aren't getting me down, Hinata-chan! I promise!"

He jumped down from the railing on to the floor of the stadium.

"You ready to lose, dog-breath?" He taunted.

Kiba scowled, "As if!"

X_(Whole fight with Kiba)_X

X_(Hinata vs Neji final attack)_X

Naruto ground his teeth, making a low growl as Neji beat Hinata. His eyes widened when he felt the killer intent behind Neji's final strike.

Hinata stared at her cousin, knowing that what was coming was going to hurt, badly.

Except… an orange blur took the hit instead.

Naruto coughed out blood, glaring at Neji with such killer intent that even the Hyuuga prodigy was affected.

"Medics!" Kurenai appeared behind him, tending to Hinata, while Kakashi and Gai appeared next to Neji.

Naruto held his heart, coughing harder.

"You okay, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, though his vision was swimming.

'_I don't understand… The Kyuubi should already be healing me!' _He thought immediately.

His eyes widened as the memory of a snake-like ninja, pulling up his shirt with his tongue and hitting his stomach, resurfaced.

'_Hinata-chan said he tampered with the seal! He must have cut off my chakra! Shit!'_

"We need a medic here!" Kakashi called out.

Naruto shook his head, wiping the blood off his face.

"I'm fine." He whispered, and bent down. He wiped his fingers on Hinata's blood, clenched a fist, and held it out to Neji.

"I swear I'll win." He declared loudly.

"If you live that long." Neji muttered disdainfully.

Upstairs, meanwhile, the examiner was questioning the Hokage.

"We disqualify neither Neji nor Naruto. Hinata has already lost, it doesn't matter."

X_X

Naruto couldn't stop himself from yelling at the super-perverted old guy who had knocked out his stupid and definitely second-class but still able teacher.

"Jeez, kid, I can bet your problems aren't even that problematic."

"Oh yeah!? My best friend's in the hospital and I'm not allowed to see her, though I plan to anyway, my sensei favored my Uchiha-teammate over me and gave me a dumb-ass sensei to train with, you just knocked him out, I'm facing Hyuuga Neji in the next round of the Chuunin Exams, and I've got to ignore the stupid way my heart keeps acting up because it won't heal because some stupid dumb-ass grass nin tampered with my seal!" Naruto yelled.

"Tampered with your seal?"

Naruto growled, "Thanks to Hinata-chan, I knew when the Fox was healing me, but she already confirmed its chakra's been cut off."

"Maybe I could help you out with that?"

"You could?" Naruto looked hopeful.

Jiraiya sighed, "Okay, kid, I'll train ya."

"Thanks so much, ero-sensei!"

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched.

"Take it off."

"Sorry man, I don't swing that way." Naruto smirked, "And even if I did, you're way too old for me."

"You-!" Jiraiya cursed, "Show me the seal, brat!"

Naruto sighed and coughed a little. Jiraiya noticed that he was a little pale. Naruto pulled off his jacket and his shirt, and summoned some chakra.

Jiraiya examined the seal for a bit, automatically thinking, _'Oruchimaru.'_

"Okay, brat, this is gonna hurt a bit." Jiraiya said, and performed the disactivation of the seal Oruchimaru had placed.

Healing chakra rushed to Naruto's heart, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on, gaki, let's get you ready to kick some Hyuuga ass."

X_X

"Let me get this straight. You know that you can summon the fox's chakra, but you can't really do it all the time?"

"Yep." Naruto said, "I've done it before, and I know that it only happens when I'm out of chakra and stamina, but if sometimes I just pass out if I train too much."

"Okay. Can you try right now?"

"Sure."

Naruto had a great Kage Buunshin battle, and eventually ran out of chakra.

"Good, try summoning the fox's chakra."

Naruto complied. A very faint, almost non-existent red appeared in his chakra.

"Too less."

"Last times I only did it when I was in danger." Naruto shrugged.

"Danger, huh? Come with me, brat…" Jiraiya smirked evilly.

X_X

"Naruto-kun!"

"Hinata-chan! You're out of the hospital!" Naruto yelled, hugging his teammate carefully.

"Hai, if Neji-kun h-had landed the l-last attack, I would still b-be there, but I can even t-train as usual n-now."

"So you want to spar with me?"

"Hai, d-definitely! But, Naruto-kun, how are you n-now?"

"The Kyuubi already healed it up, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said happily, "I met the Sannin, Jiraiya. He's a super pervert, but he did something to the seal. He also taught me a great awesome new technique that I need chakra control for, if you could help me out with that."

"Hai!"

Naruto scowled, "The stupid idiot threw me down a ravine so I could summon a frog, and then I had to spend the whole day convincing the stupid frog to be my partner."

"You can s-summon frogs?"

"Only small ones most of the time, because my chakra control sucks."

"I'll help you w-with that, N-Naruto-kun. I know a lot of chakra control excercises."

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan. By the way, you know you rocked, right?"

"Was S-Sakura-san b-better than m-me?" Hinata asked shyly.

"Nah! She didn't even use any proper techniques. I mean, she did good, but you were awesome! You didn't give up, and you didn't let go of your nindo." Naruto grinned.

Hinata blushed furiously, smiling.

"Let's get started, then, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded.

X_X

They were sitting on the head of the Yondaime Hokage, one of their favorite meeting places.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked softly, staring at Naruto as he gazed at the village.

"Hai?" He turned to look at her, and she blushed.

"A-A-Ano, w-were you a-angry when K-Kakashi-s-sensei didn't t-train you?" She stammered.

Naruto sighed and looked away.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata pressed.

"I was disappointed." He said softly, drawing his arms around his knees and pulling them up to his chest. He hid his face between them, so his voice was muffled when he continued.

"He hurt me so bad it was like someone plunged a kunai straight in my heart. It was so completely obvious that not only did he think Sasuke was better, more important and more worth his time than me, but he also obviously believed that I couldn't beat Neji. He practically mocked me by giving me such a pathetic sensei. Any other jounin could have helped me out. I've gotten used to the pain, but it hurt so bad it was like I was back without any friends, when I found that my own sensei didn't believe in me. What hope did I have?"

Tears crawling down her cheeks, Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto, and hugged him tightly.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan." Naruto whispered softly, returning the embrace very gently.

Standing on a nearby rooftop, Jiraiya smiled as he looked down at his new-found student and his-ahem-best friend. Then he scowled. Hatake Kakashi was in deep shit once Naruto pulled the stick out of Neji's ass.

* * *

**hope you like it, please review. I love you guys! Hopefully will update ASAP.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm going to skip Gaara's fight, and Sasuke's fight will come later. After Tsunade, maybe I'll just jump to the Shippuden? Suggestions please.**

* * *

Chapter Seven:

"It is your destiny to lose, Uzumaki Naruto. It was decided when I became your opponent."

"I don't believe in destiny."

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe in the truth. It won't stop existing."

Naruto chuckled humorlessly, "Ne, Neji, try and tell yourself that."

Neji glared, "You're already injured. You should just give up, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto snarled, "And let what you did to her go? Besides, I don't back down from a challenge. I don't give up! Don't act high-and-mighty on me, bastard. I already have a teammate with a stick up his ass. I know all about you, and I know more about the Hyuugas than you can imagine. Hinata-chan's my best friend, and we tell each other everything."

"That doesn't change anything. You are destined to lose."

"Don't give me that shit. You believe in destiny, right? Then it was Hinata's destiny to be born in the main family, just like it was your father's to be born late. It's your destiny to suffer, then!"

Naruto crouched, "I thought it was the destiny of the branch family to protect the main family with their lives, not make their lives hell and try to kill them while using the Chuunin Exams as an excuse!"

Neji tossed shuriken, snarling, "Urusai! You don't know anything, dead last! You don't know anything about the pain I've had to endure."

Naruto threw back his head and laughed bitterly.

"Pain?" His face scared the crowd, "You think you know pain? Let me tell you, Hyuuga Neji, you haven't even learnt pain's ABC. Have you been beaten up till you were unconscious when you four? Were you hated, despised, loathed and hurt your entire life for something you had no control over? Did anyone throw kunai and shuriken at you when you were six and had nothing warm to wear in winter?"

Naruto chuckled bitterly, "You're not the only one who's special, Neji, and you're not the only one who's hurting. Hinata is, and worse than you. Because she feels for you. And you're not the only one who's been branded with a seal that ruined your life."

"You can change destiny, Hyuuga Neji." Naruto said, "And I'm going to show you."

With that he made his favorite hand signs.

"Kage buunshin no jutsu!" He yelled, and the entire stadium erupted with Narutos.

"Byakugan."

X_X

Naruto collapsed to one knee, breathing hard and coughing out blood. He could hardly make out Neji's favor.

"You made a fatal mistake, Uzumaki Naruto, when you let your guard down at that moment." Neji smirked.

"It's over. You and Hinata are good as friends, failures should stick together."

He turned his back to Naruto.

"Come back." The voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"I'm used to being called a failure, and what you think of me doesn't matter." Naruto's voice was steady, "But. Don't. Call. Hinata-chan. A. Failure."

Neji felt the chakra and turned around, eyes widening.

"Impossible! I cut your chakra points, even your heart! You shouldn't even be breathing."

Naruto was enveloped in red chakra, some of it swirling behind him in the form of a tail. His nails had become longer, and his whiskers had stretched out. He grinned in a canine manner.

"I have a lot to prove to a lot of people. I have to prove I'm stronger than you. I have to prove I can change destiny. To my sensei, to my teammates, to my best friend, to my mentor, and especially to you."

His grin dropped, "Because I know your pain."

And he disappeared in a blur.

Neji couldn't see. He only felt the unbelievably and abnormally strong punch land in his stomach, and he flew back straight in a wall.

He coughed out blood, eyes widening when he felt a foot meet with his chin.

"Hayai!" He could only whisper.

Naruto pulled him out of the hole and stood him up.

"I don't ask people to give up, Hyuuga Neji, so I'm giving you a chance to give the audience and to show the Hyuugas what the branch family is made of." Naruto said gravely.

Neji snarled, starting on the offensive.

"Chakra palms won't affect me." Naruto said calmly, "My chakra cloak defects them."

He made the hand sign, "Kage buunshin no jutsu!"

Each of the clones wore an-admittedly weaker-chakra cloak.

"Let's get wild!" Naruto shouted, and the clones leapt at Neji.

"He won't get up now, proctor." Naruto shouted, and then he declared more quietly, "When I become Hokage, I'm changing a lot of things, Neji. The Hyuuga clan will be one of them. It was decided when I met Hinata-chan. Arigatou for strengthening my resolve."

Neji stared at the 'dead last' who had just defeated him.

X_X

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto cried.

"She's okay." Kiba replied, "Just tired."

Hinata sat up weakly but flashed him a grin, "Arigatou, Naruto-kun. I think you've changed him today."

Naruto hugged her carefully, "'t was my duty, Hinata-chan."

"You d-didn't even r-reveal your trump card." Hinata said happily.

Naruto grinned, "Yep! I rock!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata scolded lightly.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto said in the same tone.

Hinata laughed.

"Naruto?"

Naruto turned, not leaving Hinata, and looked at Sakura.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan." He said with a smile, "Did you see how I kicked his butt?"

"Uh-huh. You were…"

"Sugoi!" Hinata put in.

Sakura nodded.

"Arigatou. Anyways, Hinata-chan, we have a ramen treat booked, 'kay?"

Hinata nodded.

X_X

"Genjutsu!" Hinata murmured.

Naruto nodded, putting his fingers together, "Kai!"

"I've gotta chase Sasuke and that Gaara guy, Hinata-chan. Take care?" Naruto said seriously.

"Hai!" Hinata said immediately, "You too?"

Naruto nodded.

"See ya!"

X_ **(Whole fight with Gaara, same except that Naruto summons Gamabunta at the first attempt) **_X

Still wrapped in bandages, Naruto sat on his bed, soaked from the rain, his black mourning clothes clinging to him.

"Naruto-kun?" The door opened slightly.

Hinata entered, already changed into a black kimono.

"Ohayo." He said softly.

"You'll get sick."

"Daijobu."

"Naruto-kun, please get up and change." Hinata pleaded.

Naruto sighed and stood up.

After a quick shower when he came out in black pants and a t-shirt, Hinata was making him rice and meatballs.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan." He sighed.

"You miss him?" Hinata asked softly.

He sighed again, "He was like… family, ya know? Iruka-sensei's been like an older-brother or a father-figure for me, and he was… well, he was ojiisan. I don't care if he was the Hokage. He was part of the family, always, in my dreams. When I'd dream of a family, he'd come in all the time."

Hinata summed up courage and wrapped her arms around him carefully, hugging him gently.

A few tears fell on her neck as he returned her embrace and nuzzled her shoulder.

"Arigatou, H-Hinata-chan." He whispered.

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews, all of you... more later!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know I'm skipping a lot, and I know this chapter is ultra short, but... it's Eid tomorrow (Sort of like christmas; hopefully you'll have heard of it), and I'll be ultra ultra ultra ultra busy, so I might not update for a few days. So sorry guys!**

* * *

Chapter Eight:

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Hinata panted at the reception.

"Hai. Room Eleven."

"Has a-anyone b-been to s-see h-him?"

"Yeah, the Toad Sannin and the Hokage, but he's been unconscious."

"And w-what a-about the o-others that w-went with h-him?"

"They're all okay too, out of danger."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, "And h-him?"

"He's in critical condition, but he'll make it out in a few days, knowing him. You can go ahead, but I don't think he's woken up yet."

"Hai. Arigatou."

Hinata rushed to Room Eleven, nervously fiddling with the simple orange and yellow flowers she'd brought.

As she neared the room, she saw a nurse coming out with Tsunade.

"He's awake." She said as soon as she saw Hinata, "He's not talking, though."

Hinata nodded.

She stepped in and closed the door behind her, taking a deep breath.

She almost broke into sobs when she saw him. He was covered in bandages, from his head to his toes, and attached to an IV and heart monitor. He was half sitting up, half lying down, propped up on pillows.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan." His voice shook.

"Are you all right?" She said quietly, putting the bouquet on his bedside table.

He shook his head carefully, and she could see he was trying not to break down.

"I broke my nindo." His voice was unsteady, broken, "I couldn't fulfill my promise to Sakura."

Hinata bit her lip, "You tried your hardest, Naruto-kun."

"I… I couldn't… I wasn't… strong enough." A tear trickled down his cheek.

She slipped her arms around him and hugged him very gently. He finally broke down into sobs.

"I-can't-sob-face-her-now-sob-I-broke-my-sob-promise-sob… Hinata-chan-I-let-him-go! I-let-him… He-betrayed-the-village-he-betrayed-me…"

Hinata found tears trickling down her own cheeks, but she didn't make a sound except hush and shush.

"I-failed-Hinata-chan." Naruto sobbed, "He-was-my-brother-and-I-couldn't-stop-him-I-wasn't-strong-enough-"

"Naruto-kun, you were strong enough! Sasuke tried to kill you, but you couldn't kill your own friend, could you?"

Naruto immediately shook his head.

"So… you didn't break your nindo. Besides, Sasuke-kun can still be saved." Hinata said firmly, "Your nindo is that you never, ever, ever, give up."

Naruto wiped his face, "Arigatou, Hinata-chan."

Hinata nodded, "And I know Sakura-san will understand."

He bit his lip, looking away, momentarily distracted, "Hey! Are those for me?"

Hinata picked up the orange and yellow flowers, blushing, "Hai."

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan!"

* * *

**Anyways, guys... I have no idea where to go next, I have completely forgotten what comes next, so if you guys could just name the events that come next? Maybe i should just skip to Shippuden? Please, please, please help me out here! I can't watch the episodes again because I have dozens of other things to do and I'm not allowed to use the PC for more than an hour b/c my power's gone above -8 (Which incase some dumb-asses don't know, is a lot)... thanks guys...**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Hinata rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji knocked lightly, "Wake up, please, Naruto's leaving today."

Hinata sprang up immediately.

"What!?" She cried, and then remembered…

Her best friend was leaving on a three-year training mission. Three-year training mission. Three-year-training mission.

Hinata's eyes filled with tears.

"Naruto-kun, what am I going to do without you?" She whispered.

Slowly she got out of her bed. She washed up and changed into blue Capri pants and a dark purple long shirt. Brushing out her hair, she went out quickly.

They had promised to meet at their favorite spot: the Hokage monument.

"I'm gonna be early." She murmured, glancing at the hour glass.

X_X

Naruto grinned brightly.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Tsunade-no-baa-chan." He said.

Tsunade smiled at him, "Come back safely, brat?"

"You bet! And you'd better be ready to kiss your seat goodbye when I come back, baa-chan!" He said cockily.

"We'll see, brat." Tsunade laughed, "You take care of him, Jiraiya. And he'd better not be a pervert when he comes back."

"I won't, trust me." Naruto grinned.

Tsunade's smile shrank a little. She stood up and gestured to Naruto.

When he came forward she bent down and kissed him lovingly on the head.

"You promise to be the same gaki I know?" She whispered.

Naruto's face was serious and smiling at the same time, "Stronger and smarter, I swear on my nindo."

"Good."

"Now, I gotta meet up with Hinata-chan, and have breakfast at Ichiraku's before I leave, 'kay?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded, and Naruto rushed off.

X_X

Naruto smiled sadly when he saw Hinata. He hugged her gently.

"Gomen, Hinata-chan." He whispered quietly, "I have no choice. I can't stay in the village without putting you guys in danger."

'N-N-Nani?" Hinata cried.

"There's a group of S-class missing nins who are hunting down and capturing jinchuuriki in order to extract and collect bijuu such as the Kyuubi no kitsune. They could come after me in the village, and that would mean exposing you all, and innocent villagers, to their wrath. So I need to go and get stronger and learn to control the Kyuubi's chakra. I need to make sure that I can protect you guys and myself."

"B-B-B-But w-w-w-wouldn't it be b-b-b-better for y-y-y-you t-to stay? W-W-We could p-p-protect y-y-you and w-watch y-your b-back."

"So you'll get stronger too." Naruto replied firmly.

"B-But."

"I don't have a choice, Hinata-chan." Naruto sighed, "I hate this more than you do. I'm going to miss you guys so much."

"You'll write?"

"As much as possible." Naruto replied, "I promise."

X_X

"Come back safely, okay, Naruto?" Sakura said as she hugged him quickly.

Naruto grinned, "You bet!"

He turned to the girl standing beside Sakura and hugged her tightly.

"I'll miss you, Hinata-chan."

Then he went back to where Jiraiya stood, and waved at his friends, "Sayonara, mina!"

X_X

_Dear Hinata-chan,_

_I'm not gonna be able to mention any whereabouts in my letters, even if they are being sent via a messenger frog. And I apologize before, my letters are going to be probably short._

_Anyway, I miss you like hell. Besides missions, this is the longest we've been apart, right? It's really weird… having only Ero-sennin for company. We train almost the entire day, and he's making me read up too. He even tried to make me read one of his smutty novels. I refused though._

_We're staying in a valley for now, and there's absolutely no one around. It's pretty weird, and it got pretty lonely, since we've been here for a week. We'll move out tomorrow._

_How's every one? Sakura-chan, you, Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, and the like? How's your training coming along? Anything special happened?_

_Don't send any photos, and I'm not going to either. Ero-sennin strictly forbade it. He said it's too dangerous in case the frog gets intercepted._

_Till later. Miss you._

_Yours,_

_Naruto_

Hinata smiled as she read the letter for the fifth time that day. She kept it on her bedside table beside a photo of Naruto. She turned on one side, closed her eyes, and went to sleep with a smile on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

**I DONT OWN NARUTO OR NARUTO SHIPPUDEN OR ANY CHARACTERS! NARUTO WOULD BE HECK OF A LOT COOLER IF I DID!**

* * *

**I know I'm being lazy, but Eid JUST passed and now we have stupid stinkin' bimonthly tests... I have Phyics and Eng Lit tomorrow, plus I have a fever (I'm happy about that; I never get sick). But anyway, here we go, timeskip to Shippuden!**

* * *

Chapter Ten:

The Hyuuga household was silent, except for the shuffling and rustling of sheets in the bed of a Hyuuga heiress everyone was fond of.

Hinata tried vainly to go back to sleep, but it seemed that the comfort of her pleasant (And rather vivid and… imaginative) dreams was over. So sighing, she sat up.

The Hyuuga Hinata that stood up, bathed, and changed quickly was very different from the one we knew. Yes, she was still the shy timid, kind and gentle Hinata, but physically… she had grown up, and out.

Being best friends with Naruto did not only expose you to a lot of confidence, it also exposed you to the two of the most stylish and popular kunoichis of the village, Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. It didn't help, of course, that almost the entire village knew of her crush on a young blonde and wanted to get them together.

So Hinata's dressing, slowly but steadily, had changed over the years. Gone were the baggy jackets we were all sick of. Though of course, being a Hyuuga, wearing something revealing was very unbecoming.

She was dressed in black Capri pants, ending mid-calf, and a lavender v-neck sleeveless jacket. The v-neck wasn't deep, but it didn't hide every inch of her neck either. Underneath the jacket she wore a fishnet undershirt with three-quarter sleeves, and fingerless lavender gloves. Her hair gently waved down to mid-back, a few bangs falling here and there over her face, and her headband was once again tied around her neck. To complete her ninja attire she had her kunai holsters and packs, and the standard shinobi sandals.

Far different from the outfit from her genin days, her attire was still very modest, despite just giving a tiny, 1% hint of all the curves hidden underneath it.

Hinata's chuunin vest rested in a corner of her wardrobe; she wore it very less, like most of the female chuunin.

Anyways, Hinata finished dressing up and let herself out of the Hyuuga household. Hardly anybody was up at this time of the day. She could only think of one person who would be up this early just to start training, and the thought of that one person made her sigh and blush slightly.

'_Oh Naruto-kun…' _She thought, staring up at the sky.

Hinata, as usual, strolled to the Hokage monument and sat down on the Yondaime's spiky head, staring at the village.

She sat there for a long while, lost in her own thoughts, that repeatedly brought a blush to her face, until…

"Hinata!"

She turned her head so fast it hurt.

There, standing a few steps away from her, was a person she had missed more than she had missed anyone in her entire life, a person who had been her thoughts every second for the previous two-and-a-half years, a person who was the source of all her ideals, principles, goals and confidence, and a person who for some reason had a slight blush on his cheeks as he grinned at her.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" She was too shocked to scold herself mentally for the stutter.

There was no way the gorgeous guy standing in front of her was Naruto. No way.

Naruto's grin widened, "Whadya think?"

'_What do I think?' _Hinata's mind came up with possibilities that made her blush furiously.

She ran her eyes over him, taking everything in greedily. He was tall, possibly the tallest of all of them now, and ripped. Not ripped in the sense of muscles upon muscles upon muscles, but lean… His face had broadened, making his whiskers less prominent. His eyes were the same blue pools of warmth and comfort. His hair was longer, making him look older and more mature.

But what had changed most was his dressing. Sure, he still wore orange, but…

His pants were black, and he wore a tight black shirt that showed off the muscles he had developed. On that shirt he wore an open dark orange jacket with a red whirlpool at the back, and two black stripes down the front. His Konoha metal plate was on a black headband now, to match his outfit, still tied around his forehead.

"Y-You look good." Hinata replied, still blushing.

As her mind registered what was happening, Hinata's eyes began welling up with tears, until the sight of her beloved became blurred.

Naruto's smile became smaller, more gentle and caring, and he held out his arms.

Without thinking, Hinata rushed into them, burying her face into his chest as she sobbed, missing the darkened hue of red on his cheeks.

"I-missed-you-so-much." She sobbed.

He hugged her tighter, "Missed you too, Hinata-hime. You were on my mind more than anyone else." He whispered.

'_Hinata-hime…Naruto's arms… ripped… oh my gosh…' _

Her brain turned to mush, and Hinata fainted.

X_X

Naruto couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips as he laid his newfound crush on the ground. Nor could he help blushing harder.

If Hinata wasn't his best friend, he probably wouldn't have ever figured out why she blushed and stammered so much around him. Since he knew she didn't act that way around everybody, and that girls didn't tend to act that way around their best friends, he had started to ponder on it. It helped when he was travelling with Jiraiya (especially these last few months) and attracted the attention of almost every teenage girl in every place he went. He had tried to figure out the reason they blushed and giggled so much around him, compared them to Sasuke's hoard of fangirls back in the Academy, and the light bulb clicked. Then he thought of how Hinata acted around him. He couldn't believe it at first.

Then, suddenly, she wouldn't leave his thoughts. Everywhere he went, he thought of her and compared other women to her. Before he knew it, he had developed a liking for the young Hyuuga too.

If anything, his crush intensified with how beautiful Hinata had become now. And he knew that her character would be just as, if not more, beautiful.

However, Naruto knew that he couldn't act on his wishes until the Akatsuki threat was over. He had decided to wait a single more year, and if the dangers of being around him didn't decrease, then he'd just do what he wanted and let the dice fall where they may. He was even ready to tell Hinata to wait for him just a little longer, but he had decided to do it only if he suspected that she was moving on.

"You look beautiful, Hinata-hime." He whispered softly to himself.

Unknown to him, a certain perverted hermit was scribbling down furiously and giggling as he observed the interactions between his student and the young heiress.

'_This boy will be the inspiration of my greatest novel yet.' _

And we all know what kind of novel Jiraiya meant.

X_X

Hinata didn't want to wake up from the amazing dream she was having. Naruto-kun had come back, and called her Hinata-hime, and held her in his arms, and he'd told her that she'd been on his mind the entire time he'd been away. Sighing wistfully with her eyes still closed, she willed the dream to return, but it didn't.

Slowly Hinata became aware of the fact that she was lying on something very hard. Rocks? Biting back a groan at the hardness of the ground, she decided to open her eyes. It was no use dreaming if her dreams weren't going to come true.

So she blinked thrice, and twice more to make herself believe that she wasn't dreaming.

"Finally awake, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked her with a grin.

Blushing furiously, Hinata sat up, stretching her arms out a little.

"Arigatou gozaimasu." She said softly.

Naruto just laughed, "Ohayo, Hinata-chan."

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun. Did you just come back?"

"Yeah, we had to go see baa-chan first." Naruto replied, "But I came straight to see you as soon as we were done."

Hinata blushed harder, smiling happily, "I'm so happy you're back."

"Me too. I missed this place so much." Naruto said almost wistfully, "But we got some kickass training done. I'm a lot stronger."

"Ano… we're all chuunin now." Hinata bit her lip.

Naruto sighed and looked away, "A so desu ka."

"But you'll catch up soon, right?"

"Mochiron!" Naruto said loudly.

Hinata smiled. There was no knocking him down.

"So come on, Hinata-chan, let's go get some ramen." Naruto said enthusiastically, grabbing her arm and pulling her up.

X_X

Sakura had gone to Tsunade's office to report about one of her patients when she heard Shizune talking to a chuunin about Naruto.

"He's back?" Sakura asked quickly.

"Hai. He's changed a lot. Hardly looks like the same Naruto." Shizune replied with a smile.

Sakura thrust her report at Shizune, "I'm gonna go see him!"

And she was off.

The first place she checked, was Ichiraku's ramen shop. And there he was, happily eating ramen while listening to Hinata.

Sakura immediately felt a twinge of jealousy. He saw Hinata before seeing her?

Her jealousy lessened when she walked up and bonked Naruto on the head, hard.

"Itai! Itai itai itai!" Naruto yelled, his hands flying up to his head., "What's the big—Sakura-chan?"

"Baka!" Sakura yelled, "Why didn't you come see me?"

"Gomen! Gomen, Sakura-chan, I was with Hinata-chan and I swear I was gonna see you after some ramen!" Naruto apologized immediately.

Sakura's expression softened.

"Welcome back."

"Yeah, it's great to be home again." Naruto replied with a grin.

She ran an eye over him, "Stand up, baka."

Naruto stood up immediately, and Sakura's eyebrows went up.

"You're taller than me now!"

"Told you guys I hadn't hit my growth spurt!" He grinned triumphantly.

Sakura smiled, "Good for you, Naruto."

"Ne, Sakura-chan, wanna join us for some ramen?" Naruto asked.

"No, I have a report to make to Tsunade-sama. I'll see you again for some training, Naruto."

"Mochiron!"

Sakura smiled, waved at him again, and rushed off.

X_X

"Konohamaru-kun, Naruto-boss is here!"

"Nani!? The boss is back!?"

"Hai!"

"Let's go then!"

The Konohamaru Corps headed immediately towards Ichiraku's.

"He's leaving!" Konohamaru whispered, "Let's tail him!"

Naruto would have noticed the Konohamaru Corps immediately if he had not bumped into Shikamaru and Temari.

"Oh look, the idiot's back." Shikamaru said with a small smile.

He immediately raised an eyebrow, "Ne, Shikamaru, are you two on a date or something."

"N-Nani!? No way I'd date a crazy woman like her."

"Watch what you're saying, lazy ass." Temari bonked him on the head.

"What a drag. She's here for the next Exams." Shikamaru explained, "It's troublesome, but I have to escort her everywhere."

"Sounds like a date to me." Naruto replied, "Make sure Ero-sennin doesn't see you two, or else he'll write a book with lots of sex scenes between two characters named after you two."

Temari glared at him, reaching for her fan, and Shikamaru was fighting back a blush, finding it too troublesome to glare at the blonde.

Hinata was blushing, too. Naruto, immediately after seeing Temari reach for her fan, sprinted off in the opposite direction, a huge grin on his face.

He ran quite a way off and while making sure Temari wasn't following him, found that someone else was.

"I know you're following me, Konohamaru." Naruto said with a grin.

"Kuso! The boss always knows where we are."

Naruto just grinned as Konohamaru showed himself.

"Well, guess what, boss, I got a new technique to show you!"

Konohamaru formed the handseals, but Naruto immediately pried his hands apart, a nervous look on his face.

"Onegai, Konohamaru, don't do that technique. I'll teach you a super awesome new technique if you promise not to pull this one. Even I stopped it before I became a genin."

"Nani!?"

"Hinata-chan won't talk to me if she finds out you did this jutsu, so, please don't do it, okay?"

Konohamaru stared at him, "You sure you'll teach me a new jutsu?"

"Hai."

"It's a deal!"

"But not now, okay? I'm meeting up with Hinata-chan for a spar."

"Daijobu, boss! See ya!"

And the Konohamaru Corps were off.

Hinata, fighting back a blush at finding that her anger affected Naruto so much, approached her best friend with a smile.

"Ready for some training, Naruto-kun?"

"Mochiron!"

X_X

"Kami, Hinata-chan, I don't want to be the guy who gets on your bad side." Naruto said, panting, as he and Hinata sat down.

Hinata blushed, "Arigatou. You've improved a lot too."

Naruto grinned, "Cuz we always keep our promises."

Hinata nodded, looking away as she softly said the words she so treasured, "Because that's our nindo, our ninja way."

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**Outfits are my own creation, I have no idea where I was influenced from. Hope you like it, please review, and I'll update ASAP.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm skipping directly to the Pain saga, because nothing much happens before that that concerns Naruhina, except one or two minor events… Plus I want to move on to recent events, so sorry guys. Anyway it is supposed to be a Naruhina fanfic with romance and fluff so…deal with it.**

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Chapter Eleven:

"What the hell! Oi, Gamabunta, what are you doing here!?" Naruto demanded, finding the Toad Boss standing near the Hokage tower.

Before Gamabunta could answer, Kakashi appeared.

"Oi, Naruto, Tsunade-sama summoned you." Kakashi looked unusually grave.

Naruto glanced away from Gamabunta and nodded at Kakashi with a grin.

"Yeah, I'll go see her."

As he walked up to the Hokage tower, a nagging voice at the back of his mind said that something was wrong, really, really wrong.

He shook the thought of his mind, and knocked once at the door.

"Come in." Tsunade called.

Naruto entered, and to his surprise found Sakura, Sai, Yamato and Shizune there, as well as two really shriveled old tiny toads sitting near Tsunade's desk.

"Baa-chan, you wanted to see me?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, we have some news for you."

-Whole conversation from canon-

'_Jiraiya-chan was killed in battle.'_ The words span in Naruto's mind, and he tried hard to grasp them as the Toad Sage explained.

By the end of it, his mind was in a whirl.

He knew that he was blaming Tsunade for letting Jiraiya go out on such a dangerous mission on his own, and he knew in some corner of his consciousness that he was wrong for thinking that, but…

A voice very like Hinata's whispered in his mind as he opened his mind to speak, _'Remember… you could end up crushing her. Think before you speak, Naruto. Others have blamed you for things without words. You will be putting on her a burden bigger than your own. Be careful, Naruto. Don't hurt her feelings.'_

He closed his mouth.

'_You could have stopped him, baa-chan. He wouldn't have gone. You could have sent someone with him. You could have done anything, damn it!'_

But the voice kept reminding him, _'Don't say it. She was helpless. It was his own decision. Don't. Don't say it, Naruto.'_

So he turned around, opened the door, and fled.

X_X

Hinata was walking randomly through the village streets near sunset, looking for Naruto, when she ran into Iruka.

"Ohayo, Iruka-sensei!" She said brightly.

"Ohayo, Hinata. Have you seen Naruto?"

"No, but I was looking for him."

"Something's wrong. I ran into him earlier, but he looked really depressed."

"D-Depressed!?"

"Hai. I was just about to go see Sakura or the Godaime to ask what was wrong."

"D-Do you mind if I do that?"

"Zenzen! It might be better if you go see him. I'm his sensei, but you two are a lot closer."

"Hai." With that Hinata was off in the direction of the Hokage tower.

'_I stood back and watched you when we failed to rescue Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun. But I promise I'm going to help you now.' _She silently vowed.

X_X

She was still dressed in her usual outfit, but from his outfit she gathered he'd heard early in the morning, and hadn't trained after, or he had been at home the whole while, because he was dressed in a light blue t-shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows, and short black pants. His hair flopped in his face with the absence of his headband.

He had an ice lolly in one hand, the kind she and Hanabi often shared, as she and her mother used to when they were younger. But it was melting slowly and dripping on to the pavement.

Hinata focused on his face and her heart clenched when she saw the glittering tears cascading down his cheeks and dropping down his chin steadily. He was crying quietly and noiselessly, and unless you went up close you wouldn't notice his tears.

"Naruto-kun." She whispered as she neared him.

Hearing a whisper and footsteps Naruto immediately wiped his face, trying to get a grasp on his tears.

Hinata sat down beside him on the bench.

"I heard from Kakashi-sensei." She whispered softly, "I'm so sorry."

"I wanted him to watch over me. I wanted him to see me become Hokage. I wanted him to see the great me. He'd only seen the worst, stupidest, most backward and frustrating parts of me ever." Naruto whispered, tears glistening in his eyes again, "I… I…"

"Naruto-kun, whatever you and Jiraiya-sama ever did, I know he was enormously proud of you." Hinata whispered, putting a hand on his arm.

X-Flashback-X

"_You won't believe how much like Minato he is! The gaki's unique, one of a kind. I doubt you'll ever meet a student like mine, Tsunade." Jiraiya was boasting._

_The room was filled with all the jonin and chuunin as well as some ANBU who were familiar with Naruto and had contact with him. They had been summoned the day after Naruto had come back from his three-year training mission, to hear Jiraiya's official report._

_Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai stood in a line, with two ANBU beside them._

_Hinata, Shino and Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji , Sakura and Sai, Lee, Tenten and Neji all stood in a line opposite the jonin senseis. The two elders and Danzo were opposite the Hokage table, where Tsunade sat, smiling as Jiraiya bragged of his student._

"_He keeps getting knocked down, and he keeps getting up. I've never seen anyone so full of positive energy. Never once did I see him get upset at a failure."_

"_He's amazing, and one day he will take your seat, hime." Jiraiya smirked, a softness in his eyes only Tsunade noticed as he gazed out of the window at the stone face of his earlier student, "And he'll the best Hokage Konoha's ever seen."_

X-Present-X

"All the jounin and elders of this village can vouch for that. It was no secret he loved to brag about you and how much you were like the Fourth Hokage." Hinata continued, "He loved you as much as you love him, Naruto-kun. He thought of you as family too. He praised you constantly and bragged about you all the time. He had faith in you being the Hokage. He had faith in your nindo, Naruto-kun."

She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, bring his head upon her shoulder, where she felt her shirt getting damp with the tears that had started again.

Two tears dropped from her own eyes.

"He had faith in you. He believed that you could get up and face everything. He was proud of you, of the person you are. Don't stop being that person, Naruto-kun. He wouldn't want you getting depressed."

She reached over the ice lolly, knowing how much that one single food item meant to him.

"And he's watching over you, from somewhere out there." She whispered, "He's watching over you, Naruto-kun, and he still believes in the excellent shinobi he knew and is, was and will be proud of, like all of us."

Naruto, smiling through his still-flowing tears, held his hand up, and they broke the lolly together.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan." He whispered.

X_X

Hinata rang the bell twice.

The door opened, revealing a shirtless Naruto, rubbing his head with a towel, obviously out from a shower.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan!" He smirked at seeing her ogle and blush at him.

She smiled timidly, "Did you… solve the code?"

"Hai. Come on in."

She followed him inside, and blushed harder when he led her inside his bedroom.

Sitting down on his bed, he invited her to sit on the chair opposite it.

"It wasn't that difficult when we all got together. Apparently, the real Pain wasn't among the ones Ero-sennin fought."

"Nani!?"

"I know." Naruto sighed, "Ne, Hinata-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going for Sage Training, for a couple of days." He said, looking away.

Hinata was silent.

"I know… this isn't how it used to be. I'm hardly in the village any more, always away on missions and stuff, but I promise, Hinata-hime, once this is over, I'll make it up to you."

'_And leave you breathless… and satisfied… and happy… and a lot of other things.' _ Naruto's perverted mind thought.

"Zenzen, Naruto-kun! You don't have choice!" Hinata said immediately, feeling bad for making him feel bad.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan. I'll be back before you know it, 'kay?"

"Hai!"

Fighting against an uncharacteristic blush, Naruto held his arms out with a smile, "Hug?"

Blushing, Hinata walked forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

X_X

Naruto sighed. He'd gotten away from the crowd finally, seen Tsunade, and now was on his own.

He performed a simple henge into an older-looking version of Konohamaru, only with gray eyes and darker skin, before going to where he knew the Hyuuga were staying in camps.

"Neji-san." He called, spotting Neji sitting as guard with Tenten.

"Hai."

"Ohayo, hime-chan." He winked at Tenten, chuckling mentally as he caught Neji glaring at him, "You don't look like a Hyuuga, bijin."

"A-Arigatou." Tenten looked flustered, her cheeks reddening.

"Say, when all this is over, we could catch up sometime." Naruto winked.

"G-Gomen, I'm interested in someone."

Neji would be denser than Naruto if he hadn't caught Tenten's glance towards him as she said that.

"No problem." Grinning, Naruto dropped his henge for a second, "Send Hinata-chan, will ya, Neji?"

"Naruto!" Tenten cried furiously as Neji, glaring, went off to find Hinata.

"Sorry. You needed to tell him how you feel." Naruto smirked.

A few minutes later, Hinata appeared with Neji, a puzzled look on her face.

"Ano, Neji-nii-san said you wanted to see me, Kyuu-san." Hinata said.

Naruto stared at Neji, who smirked. _Kyuu?_

"Hai, Hinata-san. Could we please go somewhere more private? I have a message from a friend." Naruto said seriously.

"Hai." Hinata agreed.

They walked off, and Naruto led her to a tree near the academy (Or what was left of it), from which hung a swing she remembered perfectly.

"Sit down, Hinata?" Naruto said as they went behind the tree, out of sight of passersby.

Hinata stood, staring at him.

He sighed and dropped the henge.

"Ohayo, hime-chan." He whispered.

Hinata turned the color of beetroot, "N-N-N-Naruto-k-k-kun!"

Naruto smiled, taking her hands in his.

"Onegai, Hinata-chan, listen to me carefully."

Getting over her surprise but still bright red, Hinata nodded.

They sat down cross-legged on the ground, Naruto still holding her hands.

"I noticed your feelings for me when I was away with Ero-sennin. And, before I knew it, I developed a pretty big crush on you too."

Hinata stared at him, surprised.

"When I came back, everything I noticed about you, all the time I spent with you, those feelings just intensified. But I didn't say anything, because I was afraid this would happen."

Naruto's face looked pained as he glanced around at the destruction Pain had caused.

"I was ready to tell you about my feelings only if you started getting over me, or a year had passed with no signs of the threat ending." Naruto continued softly, "But, I guess things change."

His thumb traced circles over the back of her hand.

"However, Hinata-chan. We're still not ready. In fact, I'd put you in even more danger. I have a guess that something really, really terrible is about to happen, and it involves me, you, and everyone else I know. So, I just have to ask, Hinata-chan. Could you wait for me, just until this blows over?"

"I'd wait for you till the end of time." Hinata's voice shook, but she said it firmly.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan. One more thing. I love you too."

Naruto leaned in very slowly, and Hinata trembled, watching him as he closed his eyes, finished the last few inches, and pressed his warm lips against her soft plush ones.

Hinata took three point nine eight nine eight nine seconds to register what was happening. Then she had wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and buried her fingers in his golden hair, and kissed him back.

It was a gentle, warm and chaste, however long, kiss.

When it ended, both of them were completely out of breath. Naruto leaned his forehead against hers. Both had their eyes closed, and both had content smiles on their faces.

Naruto opened his eyes finally, and she opened hers too. His eyes were deeper blue than usual, darker and more emotional.

"I love you, Hinata-chan." He whispered.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered, feeling as if she would faint.

"You can faint after we've discussed stuff." Naruto teased, smiling when he saw her blush harder.

Then he became serious, "Absolutely no one is to know of this, Hinata-chan. That way, less people are in danger of being interrogated by Akatsuki and revealing us to them. The less people know the better. If people asked you what I said, just say that I was flattered, but I needed time to think. As dense as I am, it won't be that hard to believe."

"Hai." Hinata's voice was breathy, and Naruto pulled her close and held her tightly against him, "I u-understand."

Naruto remained silent, just content to be holding her in his arms. Hinata had a smile on her face as she closed her eyes, and fainted.

X_X

Opening her eyes, she sat up slowly and looked around. She was in some sort of tent.

"Good morning, Hinata-hime." Naruto said good-naturedly.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a deep blush.

Naruto leant and kissed her on the cheek.

"I've got some news to tell you."

Hinata looked up, interested. Naruto took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, and holding it up to stroke his cheek with the back of her hand. He closed his eyes at the warmth of her touch.

Hinata blushed, "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hai. When all this is over, your father or the elders won't have a problem with us being together. I can guarantee it."

"N-Nani!?"

"Hai. When I transformed into the Kyuubi, I came across some shocking info. The fourth Hokage, was actually my dad."

"NANI!?"

Naruto grinned, "Yup! I'm actually Namikaze Naruto. My mum and dad were married, but they kept it, and me, secret because of the Iwa nins who hated dad. Cool, huh?"

"C-C-Cool?" Hinata was shaking like a leaf.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto was actually worried now, "Are you okay?"

Bursting into tears, she wrapped her arms around his neck and fell into his chest, crying happily.

Naruto laughed, "You nearly gave me a heart attack, Hinata-chan!"

"No clan will deny even its heiress to the Rokudaime Hokage, the son of Yondaime Hokage, and the greatest ninja to walk this earth!" Naruto whispered confidently, "I swear it, Hinata-hime."

Hinata smiled as her tears ceased. She looked up at Naruto, and he lent down to once again press his lips against hers in a shorter, though equally warm and gentle kiss.

"Arigatou." They whispered together, pulling away, and laughed.

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**srry for late update, more coming soon, and I m sorry but my fanfix will be full of fluff!**


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